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Hallowe’en 2018: Ardbeg Uigeadail

As winter creeps ever closer, it seems the time has come once again to brace ourselves for Hallowe’en and to bar our doors against all the vile and twisted creatures of the underworld, soon to wake from their unnatural slumber. Naturally, such an occasion will call for the stiffest of drinks to see us through the long night and this year, I’ll be looking towards Ardbeg distillery for my dose of dutch courage.

Scotland is a country with a long and oftentimes dark history, but the Isle of Islay, in spite of its relatively small size, seems to have more than it’s fair share of terrible tales to tell. A small island off the western coast, Islay has a population of just 3000 people, but it is a land abundant with spirits, in more ways than one…

Ardbeg stands on a remote rocky coast to the south of the island. Dating from 1815, it is one of the oldest distilleries on Islay and produces a boldly flavoured, heavily peated spirit. The distillery however, has been the site of many strange events over the years, some of which, could make the blood of even the hardiest soul run icy cold.

Many years ago, on a bitter October evening, a pair of mainlanders working at the distillery were forced to leave their posts and head into the cold air to investigate a blockage in the plants water supply. Cautiously making their way up the hill, their lanterns flickering in the wind, the men huddled together for warmth and reassurance against the great unknown of the surrounding hillside, which was slowly being swallowed up by the blackness of night.

Ardbeg had long since been drawing its water from Loch Uigeadail, the ‘dark and mysterious place’, and it was in this direction the two men headed. As they drew near the place known as ‘Airigh Nam Beist‘, where the ruin of some ancient croft lay crumbling in the mud, the men froze in terror, as a hideous shriek pierced the night air. For what must have seemed like an eternity, they stood there in total silence, not daring even to breathe in case they should alert whatever demonic thing could have produced such a noise.

As the moments passed and all remained still, the men slowly began to regain their composure and decided that they must carry on with the task at hand. Slowly creeping forward, they rounded a broken down wall only to be confronted with the most dreadful stench. Covering his mouth to stop from wretching, the most advanced of the men made to take a step forward but was stopped in his tracks by an inhuman grunting sound, coming from the stream which lay somewhere to his left. Peering into the darkness, he could just make out a black form, struggling in the sticky peat-bog by the waters edge. Assuming it to be the final battle of some pitiful, half-dead cow, the man placed his lantern on the ground and tentatively reached into the darkness in aid of the poor beast. When his hand found its intended target however, he knew in an instant that it was no cow. It’s hide was covered in a thick fur, broken intermittently by patches of scaly skin. At his touch, the beast recoiled and let out an angry bellow, the likes of which could drive any man insane. The creature drew itself up to a height of well over eight feet and loomed over the man, now cowering in fear in the soaking mud. Just as he closed his eyes in preparation for death however, he was saved by the quick thinking of his colleague, who hurled his lantern as hard as he could against the great body of the vile thing.

As the lantern struck home and flame exploded from it’s casing, the great beast howled in rage before pulling itself free and disappearing in the direction of the Loch. Fearing it might return at any moment, the two men fled downhill towards the safe haven of Ardbeg, barring the doors and windows upon their arrival. Pouring themselves a drink in order to calm their shattered nerves, the men resolved to tell their co-workers the full story when they arrived in the morning…

Many scoffed in their face of course, taking the scent of Ardbeg on their breath as all the evidence that was required, but others were less dismissive. Some nodded solemnly as the two men, clearly still shaken, recounted their terrible tale and one gentleman, long in the tooth and nearing the end of his working life, told them it was not the first time he had heard such things. He could even translate for them, the name of the ruined croft where they faced their demon just a few hours before. Airigh Nam Beist – Shelterof the Beast.

*A version of this story was first shared by Ardbeg upon the release of their Airigh Nam Beist single malt, then covered further in Robin Laing’s ‘Whisky Legends of Islay’ book. Here, I have deployed a little artistic license in order to give my own spin on the story.

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Ardbeg Uigeadail is bottled at 54.2% alcohol by volume and retails in the UK for around £60 a bottle.

Taste: Orange Liqueur and Sultana Cake, Nutmeg, Clove and Ginger, lots of Woody Smoke and a wonderfully silky texture on the palate.

Value for Money: Rare or well-aged Ardbeg’s can go for very silly amounts of money but their core range offers some of the best bang for your buck drams on the market – so long as you don’t mind the lack of an age statement.

There are few in the whisky industry who can rival the consistency of quality across Ardbeg’s core range of single malts and Uigeadail is one of their most popular offerings. With good reason too, as the combination of a strong sherry influence with thick Islay smoke is a surefire winner. I must confess that the Corryvreckan remains king of the range in my eyes, but Uigeadail is nevertheless a phenomenal single malt which comes at a fairly reasonable price.